Modern Art
The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.
Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.
The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.
Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.
Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.
1990s Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1990s Modern Art
Mosaic
1990s Modern Art
Acrylic, Board
1990s Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
1990s Modern Art
Lithograph
1990s Modern Art
Oil, Cardboard
1990s Modern Art
Lambda
1990s Modern Art
Clay, Terracotta, Resin
1990s Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
1990s Modern Art
Offset
1990s Modern Art
Lithograph
1990s Modern Art
C Print
1990s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Modern Art
Silver Gelatin
1990s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Modern Art
Photographic Paper
1990s Modern Art
Archival Ink, Archival Paper
1990s Modern Art
Lambda
1990s Modern Art
C Print
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Lithograph
1990s Modern Art
Oil
1990s Modern Art
Metal
1990s Modern Art
Blown Glass
1990s Modern Art
Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor
1990s Modern Art
Bronze
1990s Modern Art
Monotype
1990s Modern Art
Bronze
1990s Modern Art
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
1990s Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1990s Modern Art
Pastel, Board
1990s Modern Art
Acrylic
1990s Modern Art
Acrylic
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Charcoal
1990s Modern Art
Offset
1990s Modern Art
Bronze
1990s Modern Art
Lithograph
1990s Modern Art
Screen
1990s Modern Art
Aquatint
1990s Modern Art
Lithograph
1990s Modern Art
Bronze
1990s Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1990s Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Pencil
1990s Modern Art
Oil, Board
1990s Modern Art
Woodcut
1990s Modern Art
Acrylic, Board
1990s Modern Art
Lithograph, Archival Paper
1990s Modern Art
Pastel
1990s Modern Art
Bronze
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Woodcut
1990s Modern Art
C Print
1990s Modern Art
Archival Pigment
1990s Modern Art
Plaster
1990s Modern Art
Oil, Board
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Digital
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Digital
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Lithograph, Offset
1990s Modern Art
Paper, Digital